That Day...

Posted by Raffaele "Picster" Picca

Hey everyone,

today I want to show you my entry for the Merrell contest over at Deviantart (a shoe company). The task was to capture a fall memory inside a shoebox. Somehow I found that contest a very nice idea and so I took part! You can also check out my project on Deviantart.



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When I was younger my dad always wanted to take me with him to go on hikes through the southern germanys forests. Back then most of the time I wasn't very motivated to come with him. I had my C64 at home and playing games with friends was much more attractive than walking through the forests with my dad. You know how kids are...

But one day we we're on a hike. It was a warm autumn day, almost no wind blowing so it was very nice to walk.
I still remember the strong colors of the leaves and as our hike was almost over my dad showed my a sunset I will never forget. It was on a small ledge, birds we're flying through clouds and the sun was shining onto the forests in front of us. It was so amazing, all those colorful trees and leaves, and the smile on my dads face.

It must have been one of the best sunsets I've ever experienced!
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Phew, I finally finished this project. When I saw the contest I began thinking about taking part and what memory would be suitable. After some time I remeber the hikes with my dad and this special hike.

I started sculpting the two figures out of Super Sculpey and I really have to say I had a hard time getting used to the scale. Normally my projects are in a much smaller scale and additionally to that I had to hold myself back at the detail and the time I invested in the project.
The figures are both far from what a miniature painter is used to and they are both pretty big (the box is 35cm x 25cm x 15cm, so dad is around 10cm high).

The "base" was a very fast job (for this size), my most important task was to capture the mood and so I concentrated on the play of light and shadow. The shadows of the trees, stones and son&dad are airbrushed, so I really got the mood of the light coming from the front.

I also painted a very harsh "rim light" on both figures to intensify the effect of the sunset.

So, I hope you like this project, even when it's not a 100% usual miniature painting! :)

And If you're interested, tell me in the comments and I'll post a step by step of the project as I took many photos!

Best wishes,
Raffa